Influence of Clothing Quantity on the Oral Temperature, Skin Temperature, Clothing Climate and Clothing Pressure of Elderly Women

Abstract

To clarify the influence of clothing quantity on the oral temperature, skin temperature, clothing climate and clothing pressure of elderly women, some wearing tests were conducted using 13 elderly women and 15 young women as subjects in summer and winter. The measured values of the elderly women were compared with those of the young women. There was a tendency of heavy dressing in the upper garments of the elderly women in summer and in the lower garments in winter. The difference in the skin temperature of the peripheral parts of the foot or hand of the elderly women between summer and winter was larger than that in the young women. The skin temperature of the peripheral parts of the foot and hand of the elderly women was quite low in winter. The positive correlation between the clothing quantity and the skin temperature of the young women in winter was significant statistically, but it was not significant in the elderly women. The clothing pressure during activities was high in the elderly women, so it was considered that restraint by clothing is a serious problem. In the young women, the positive correlation between the clothing weight and the clothing pressure was significant, but it was not significant in the elderly women. The positive correlations between the clothing quantity and the subjective evaluation (thermal, easy to move, and weight restrictions of clothing) were significant in the young women, but they were not significant in the elderly women. It was suggested that there is a serious problem when elderly women choose what to wear based solely on their subjective feeling.